Tom Brady’s pick for NFL MVP might surprise you
With just three weeks left in the NFL season, the front-runner for the 2023 NFL MVP award is one of the more debated topics around the league.
The San Francisco 49ers have two possible candidates in quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey, and a good number of media pundits are torn about which one deserves the award more.
Former three-time MVP Tom Brady is not one of them, as Brady recently revealed the 27-year-old RB has his vote for MVP over several quarterbacks including Purdy, Baltimore's Lamar Jackson, Miami's Tua Tagovailoa and Dallas' Dak Prescott on a recent episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast.
“I think all of what [McCaffrey’s] done this year is a lot what he’s done in the past,” Brady said. “It’s a different team with some different opportunities and they’ve been really dynamic on offense. So he is definitely in my mind the MVP favorite and according to his quarterback too, Brock Purdy, who says some amazing things about him. With the offseason that the running backs have, do you kind of feel like an award like that would be pretty nice?”
Brady is the latest to come out and endorse McCaffrey for MVP, much like Purdy did after Sunday’s 45-29 win over the Arizona Cardinals — a game in which McCaffrey rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown and added five receptions for 72 yards and two more scores.
McCaffrey has as good a case as any as the league’s most valuable player.
Through 14 games, he’s tied with Miami’s Raheem Mostert for the most touchdowns in the NFL (20), and he leads the league with 1,801 yards from scrimmage — 244 yards ahead of the next closest player, Miami’s Tyreek Hill, and 400 yards ahead of the next closest RB, Buffalo’s James Cook.
McCaffrey also ranks first in rushing yards (1,292), carries (244), yards after contact (847), runs of 10-plus yards (38), missed tackles forced (55) and first downs via run (74). He also has the third-highest yards per carry (5.4) of RBs with 100 or more carries, per Pro Football Focus.
More must-reads: